About Fun Cup

Fun Cup offers the excitement, drama and passion of long distance endurance racing, with a team of like minded drivers.

The tension of the start …fuel stop strategy…driver changes…refuelling…and the drama of dealing with racing incidents…just a small part of the adrenaline rush which goes with this type of racing, whether behind the wheel, or working in the pits.

Just look at your time in the seat too. Unbeatable! In a year’s average club sprint racing you’ll maybe drive for around 3.5 hours total. With the Fun Cup Endurance Championship, in just one season in the UK races, you’ve got something like 35 hours. Even split 2 or 3 ways, that’s a huge amount of driving for your money!

Originally conceived in mainland Europe in 1997, this unique class of racing has been supremely successful, spreading from country to country; Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Germany and of course, the UK…Fun Cup is growing all the time.

With an incredible 160 identical cars starting the Spa 25 hour race and some 900 plus drivers competing, it is the most successful one make endurance championship in the world.

It has been born out of a passion to provide motor racing which is enjoyable for everyone concerned. A fun based championship, but with some of the closest, most competitive and affordable racing you’ll find anywhere.

It couldn’t be easier to take part…

The Racing

The races usually last between 4 and 8 hours, with a 45 minute or 1 hour qualifying session on race day. Exclusive Fun Cup testing takes place the day before the race and the grid positions are made from a random ballot, rather than times set in qualifying. At each round, the overall winning team from the previous event starts the race from the back of the grid too.

Each race is split into stints of between 30, 40, 50 and 60 minutes (depending on the length of the race), at the end of which, there is a ‘pit stop window’ when each car must stop and may refuel. Refuelling cannot take place at any other time. When in the pits, the driver must get out and either run round the car before getting back in again, or be replaced by another driver. That way, how ever many drivers in a team, there is no disadvantage.

The racing is ultra close, with fractions between the leaders. Frequently, just 1 or 2 seconds separate them at the chequered flag, after hours of action!

The Teams

Team sizes range from 2 to 6 drivers for UK events. Every driver must have a minimum of an Motorsport UK race licence. In addition, if you are running your own car, then you will need a couple of mechanics and someone to hang out the pit board.

For experienced racers, you can be sure of some extremely quick and accomplished competition, with championship winning drivers and BTCC racers etc taking part. For the novice, you will receive plenty of support and find there are other racers who are beginners just like you. We can even help you gain your race licence through one of our ARDS Fastrack days. The ARDS day consists of a theory, practical and medical (all on the same day). So, there is no messing around and at the end, you can walk away with a race licence.

Whether experienced, or total novice, you can still enjoy your racing and gain excellent results. If you have your own team, that’s great, but if you don’t, then we’ll be pleased to introduce you to a team of similar ability which is looking for another driver.

The Events

Held at prime UK circuits, including famous names like Brands Hatch, Oulton Park, Anglesey, Donington Park, Silverstone, Snetterton and Zandvoort, we have already raced at them all. You will also be allocated a pit garage at all events and benefit from prime parking and top billing. Normally, they are 2 day events with exclusive testing on Friday, followed by qualifying and the race on Saturday. This means that you can be at home with the family on Sunday!

All of our teams can purchase hospitality in our Fun Cup awning if they wish, where you will find tea, coffee, juice, beer and wine on offer, for the entire event. This works well if you have family, friends, guests, or sponsors attending. All JPR hire teams will receive two complementary hospitality wristbands per driver.

Fun Cup UK usually hosts 7 or 8 events, spread throughout the year. Also, UK drivers are invited to race in other Fun Cup championships across Europe at many famous circuits, such as Zolder, Jarama, Dijon, Magny-Cours, Nurburgring and Spa Francorchamps, to name but a few. So, your season can be as small, or as large, as you wish.

At all events, special steps are taken to keep you out there racing. So, should you have an accident or breakdown, then we will deploy a safety car, allowing your car to be recovered back to the pits. That’s when the real hard work begins! Since the Fun Cup’s inception into the UK in 2002, only one race has ever been red flagged due to an accident. Cars are always recovered as quickly as possible and 99% of the time, they are repaired and sent back out to race!

 

The Organisation

Fun Cup UK has its own organisation team making every race weekend as efficient and enjoyable as possible. We have a fully staffed office, dedicated to answering your questions and tackling many of the detailed arrangements, where other championships leave you scratching your head. Our website provides you with a great deal of information on the Fun Cup, the cars, the team line up for each event, rental drives available and much more.

Championship Director Paul Rose has more than 50 years experience as a competitor, winning many championships along the way. Race Co-ordiantor, Roxie Marandi, focuses on the promotion of the championship. Eligibility Scrutineer, Chris Wesley has worked with the championship for many years. We have a permanent Clerk of the Course, Julian Floyd, he is one of the most experienced endurance officials in the UK and is supported by one of the largest clubs in the UK, the BRSCC.

 

The Regulations

The regulations for the UK championship are in line with those used throughout Europe, so you can race anywhere on the same basis. Strict controls are used on the cars, to rule out expensive modifications.

The engine and gearbox are sealed, so any major repairs must be carried out by JPR Group, the UK distributors.

Most parts on the cars are carefully governed and specified. All parts can be obtained from JPR, who have a parts truck at all events. The suspension allows for a choice of three spring rates. The suspension settings for items such as camber and toe etc, are left for the team to decide, but we will provide you with a detailed base set-up to get you started.

The aim of the regulations, is to keep the racing close, fair and at sensible costs. The regulations are firmly applied with a championship eligibility scrutineer checking cars at each event, to iron out any irregularities.

The Cars

These are race-designed cars using a unique and extremely strong space frame chassis, with a Beetle silhouette GRP bodywork. The suspension is a combination of special race and some production-modified units, with Bilstein dampers and powerful brakes.

The cars are powered by ultra-reliable, mid-mounted VW/Audi petrol engines, which are 1800cc and 133 bhp. There are two classes and a podium presentation for the top three teams in each class.

The engine is matched to a ultra reliable Sadev 5-Speed sequential gearbox with flat shift and the option of a Padle-shift, a pit-to-car radio is also an option. The cars are are ultra tough and will withstand a huge amount of racing.

Also, what may look like a serious accident to one corner of the car, can usually be quickly and inexpensively repaired, with only external items like the suspension arms being bent and not the chassis. That’s important to keep down the costs and get you back on the track quickly.

The Fun Cup Endurance Championship also has a number of twin-seater Fun Cup cars. Passengers can experience the thrill of being driven round a circuit first-hand, by experienced Fun Cup racers, at track days all over the UK. Added to this, in Belgium, France and Ireland, passengers can experience the adrenaline rush of being taken round the track during an actual race.

We are currently using the Giti track day tyre, which offers fantastic performance and durability, in both dry and wet conditions.

The Costs

One club racer, who switched from what seemed like low cost sprint racing to Fun Cup endurance racing, found that his carefully monitored costs plummeted from £50 a minute to more like £7. He got more racing in one year than many drivers do in a lifetime!

JPR can supply new cars or you could buy a second hand car from Fun Cup UK, from around £20,000 upwards, subject to availability. All cars supplied by JPR come with a warranty. As there are no engine, chassis, suspension, or brake upgrades, second hand cars are as competitive as a new car.

The cost of replacing routine items like tyres and brake pads is low. There’s little else you will need on the cars apart from some effort in getting it ready for events. That means real, low cost Motorsport and remember, you share all the costs with a team of drivers. Real value!

What’s more, because of the stable nature of the specification, the second hand value of the cars is superb. In fact some owners who bought used cars a couple of years ago will find they are actually worth more now as the new cars tend to go up in price each year.

Sales-Service-Support

JPR Group (Fun Cup Organiser) is based in Staffordshire and provides a full range of services, from selling new, second-hand and refurbished Fun Cup cars, through to stocking all of the spare parts and preparing cars.

JPR take parts trucks and a tyre truck to every event, ensuring that each team needs to carry only a basic level of spare parts. This keeps down a hidden cost of Motorsport and means you have the back-up of real experts at every event.

Also, if you want to buy and race a car without getting your hands dirty, then the JPR team can prepare and look after it for you, between events or recommend another team.

Dynamometer Service

JPR Group offer a full dyno service, using the latest technology single axle 2WD 450DS dynamometer, which is an extremely sensitive, technically advanced dyno machine.

Our fully trained engineers are extremely technical, innovative members of staff, who are highly trained, to achieve the maximum power output from your car.

We, at JPR, pride ourselves on offering this state of the art, professionally engineered, high quality service. Once your Fun Cup car has been placed on the dyno, you will receive a full de-brief and power graphs to illustrate the engines performance.

In addition to selling cars, JPR Group also offers cars for hire. So, without the need to buy, you can rent one-off drives, a seat for a one off race or complete season. Tell us what you want and we will do our best to make it happen. All of this makes it easy to try out the championship and to enter the world of endurance racing. It is effortless to enjoy real, cost-effective Motorsport with Fun Cup.

Promotion

Fun Cup receives widespread promotion, across a whole range of prime media, from Motorsport magazines through to daily newspapers, general interest magazines and TV coverage. The championship is filmed at each UK event for Sky Sports “Raceworld” programme and Motors TV. Each season, we have approximately 40 hours of TV coverage and an end of year season review DVD. In 2018, we had a staggering 83 hours of air time. Cameras are mounted in, or on, several cars, to capture on-track action during the race, which is brilliant for driver enjoyment and for the sponsors.

Every car must carry specified championship sponsor stickers, but that still leaves plenty of room for the inclusion of your own sponsor’s decals. Apart from a small badge on every race suit, the remainder of space is also free for your promotional use.

Fun Cup UK and Charity

Fun Cup UK is proud to dedicate an event each season to raising money for charity. At Oulton Park, we normally hold a charity auction the night before the race and are proud to have raised a staggering £50,000 plus, for the children’s hospice, Claire House.